Preview: RSL v. Columbus Crew

SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake will return home on Saturday to take on Eastern Conference foe Columbus Crew at 7:30 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Tickets are available to Saturday’s game and can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700. The match will be broadcast live on CW30, ESPN700 AM and 102.3 La Gran D FM/1600 AM. CW30 will air its 30-minute Ford Postgame Show immediately following the match; ESPN 700 will begin its pregame coverage at 6:30 p.m. MT and will air an hour-long postgame show immediately following the final whistle.

Saturday’s contest will be the first and only meeting between RSL and Columbus this year. RSL lost its only match against the Crew last season, falling 2-0 at Columbus in a storm-delayed affair at Crew Stadium on June 30, 2012.

Real Salt Lake enters Saturday’s match in first-place in both the Supporters’ Shield and Western Conference races. The Claret-and-Cobalt is three points ahead of Eastern Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City and three points ahead of West foes Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers.

Saturday’s game against Columbus will be RSL’s third in eight days. The Claret-and-Cobalt is 0-1-1 in the first two games of its busy stretch, losing 4-2 at the LA Galaxy last Saturday before scoring a 93rd minute equalizer to tie the Timbers 3-3 at JELD-WEN Field despite going down a man in the second half. This is the sixth three-game in eight-day stretch for RSL this year. The Claret-and-Cobalt has done well in the closing match of its previous five three-game in eight-day stretches, posting a 3-1-1 record in the final game of those busy stretches.

RSL has struggled historically against Columbus, posting a 4-10-1 regular season record against the Crew. That mark is RSL’s worst regular season record against any MLS club. While RSL has struggled against the Crew in the regular season, it has done well against the Crew in elimination games topping the Crew in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals.

Columbus is having a bit of a down year, currently sitting in eighth-place in the Eastern Conference – seven points out of the final playoff spot – with an 8-11-5 record. The Crew is on a hot run of form entering Saturday’s game, however, winning its last two matches 2-0 over Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls.

Saturday’s match is the first of a two-game home stand for Real Salt Lake. The Claret-and-Cobalt will follow up Saturday’s match with a nationally-televised Western Conference battle against Portland at 8:00 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium next Friday, Aug. 30.

Real Salt Lake has a worse regular season record against Columbus than it does against any other team, posting a 4-10-1 mark against the Crew in 15 all-time regular season matches between the clubs. RSL has beaten Columbus twice in elimination series, downing the Crew in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals.